Of childhood and adventures
by Zico
Summary: Lol @ the title. Little Arthur escapes his bodyguard when on a trip to a village outside of Albion, guess who he meets and what trouble they will get themselves into. Zico fails at summaries and titles.


Congratulations Zico you have won the worst title in the history of the world ever 2008!

**Zico: **Hello again you lovely people. Right, I am back with another Merlin fanfiction! –Throws confetti- This is just a random idea I had, it really isn't supposed to make much sense and it is completely impossible but this is fanfiction, logic flies out the window.

You know the drill. The characters of Merlin are owned by the BBC so I just toy with them for my own amusement.

The journey to Ealdor took longer than expected, from Camelot it took nearly half a day. The nine year old Prince Arthur stared blankly out of the window of the carriage with a heavy sigh. He was still too young and not tall enough to ride a horse properly yet so his Father had ordered them to travel by carriage which in Arthur's opinion was very, _very_ boring.

He turned away from the slow moving country side as the neared the village, shooting a glance at Morgana who was quietly reading a book to keep her entertained. Arthur had no such luxury. He stuck his head out of the empty window frame as far as he dared. He could see his Father, Uther riding out some ways in front of them and beyond that he could see the small village reveal itself at the base of the large hill about a mile off, surrounded by trees.

The reason for coming here was unclear. Why his Father had chosen a place just outside Albion's boarders he did not know; the King had said something about showing Arthur what life was like outside the city walls. Arthur was grateful for this. He had never had a chance to leave the Camelot before and spending his time inside had caused him to feel like he was almost suffocating; the castle had shrunk whilst he had grown.

The carriage slowed to a stop just outside the village and Arthur could see many people, men, women and children playing and working, carrying bundles of sticks and baskets full off the day's harvest. A few stopped and looked up from their work. The pleasant chatter died down to barely whispers as more and more joined the growing crowd as they watched the newcomers carefully. Uther dismounted and made his way over to the mass of villagers to announce his reasons for coming here. Arthur continued to watch even as the door to the carriage was opened and one of the knights accompanying them helped him and Morgana out and onto the grass.

The villagers bowed and curtseyed awkwardly, a few children not doing so from confusion about who the man standing in front of them was. Arthur watched Uther make his way across the grass back to them, exchanging a few quiet words with the knight who had helped his son and ward before making his way back even further to speak to the rest of the party accompanying them.

Arthur looked up as the young Knight, Cedric, caught their attention by clearing his throat. "King Uther asked me to watch over you whilst we are here" He explained. "You are free to walk round the village as long as I am with you" The two children nodded, "Lady Morgana you will be with Brendon today" He motioned to the other Knight walking over to them from their right where the rest of the guards and the King himself were standing.

And so Arthur walked slowly through the village, Cedric following closely behind him. Arthur looked briefly over his shoulder and up at the knight before walking towards the large crowed all gathering around the well and waiting their turn to draw water up from it. Arthur, because of his small size, weaved easily in and out of the large crowed. Cedric on the other hand took longer and when he finally made it out of the mass of people, Arthur was gone.

Arthur grinned from behind the barrels he was hiding behind. Cedric looked panic stricken; the King would certainly have some rather cruel punishment waiting for him if he didn't find the prince soon. Arthur mentally praised himself for such a cunning plan to ditch his bodyguard and now he was free to explore Ealdor by himself with no restraint. He watched as Cedric scurried off, presumably to get back up to search for him.

The barrels were lined up against the wall of a small, slightly run down looking house. Arthur stood up and went to walk round the corner to move to the back of the residence, no sooner had he done so he was knocked over, scratchy bits of straw collapsing onto him as the person who had been so blind as to walk straight into him toppled over too.

The prince spluttered, spitting bits of straw out of his mouth and sat up, "Idiot!" He yelled as he brushed off strands of straw from his red tunic and glared at the boy who had been so careless. "Idiot? You were just standing there, you didn't even see me!" The other boy retorted. Arthur could tell he was younger than him as he was slightly smaller in height. The boy began to pick the yellow straw from his unruly black hair.

"Do you know who I am?" Arthur asked. Nobody spoke to nobility like that, especially not a commoner. The other boy merely tutted as he shook his head. "Do you know who _I_ am?" He replied cryptically as he stood up. Arthur glared and stood up in such a rush that he nearly fell back down again. "This isn't a game" He growled as he looked down at the village boy.

"Hey aren't you the son of that King that visited this morning?" The lad asked and scratched his head. "So that would make you a…."

"Prince?" Arthur corrected, he may have been young but he had already perfected sounding dangerous. The boy however seemed completely unfazed.

"Yeah a Prince!" He grinned as if he had just worked out a very difficult puzzle and was very pleased with himself because of it.

"So treat me like one you twit" Arthur poked the boy's forehead which sent him a few steps backwards but soon recovered.

"Why should I?" He asked. Arthur blinked, stunned from hearing such a comeback. "I mean you maybe a… Prince but your still just like everyone else if ya think about it" The boy scratched the back of his head and looked away from Arthur's face. Arthur was about to try and say something sarcastic or clever before he heard a cry from behind him. He turned quickly to see Cedric storming over to him, looking very angry but also relieved if such a combination were possible. "Quick, hide me!" Arthur turned to the smaller boy who shrugged.

"Why should I?"

"…Please!" Arthur begged, and though he was completely reluctant to do that, he was desperate.

The boy, satisfied with the reply, nodded and grabbed Arthur's hand before quickly leading him away from Cedric and round into the house before Cedric had a chance to see that they had entered. The two rested against the wall, holding their breath as they heard the knight's footsteps draw nearer and then fade as he walked past. Arthur was the first to let out a sigh of relief. He turned too look at the other boy and paused before saying an awkward thank you.

The boy smiled in return. "What's your name" He asked. Arthur blinked; he thought most people would know his name. "Arthur" He replied, "_Prince_ Arthur" he added quickly. The boy smiled in return, pushing off the wall so he was standing in front of the young prince. "Nice to meet you _Prince_ Arthur" He replied sarcastically. "I'm Merlin".

**Zico: **Whoop Whoooop! First chapter done. I don't expect this too be too long… hopefully.

Con!crit is very much welcome, I am always looking for new ways to improve, but I will probably know most of the mistakes in here and am too lazy to change them, but I will take them into account.. Flames however will be ignored and used to burn Nimueh.


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